This invention relates to a water heater in which the water is heated by a heat pump.
Water heaters in which water is heated by the heat pump in principle have been known for many years. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,516,094.
Water heaters of this type use a compressor to compress refrigerant in the gaseous state. The refrigerant is then condensed to heat the water, and later evaporated back into the gaseous state. It is desirable to mount the compressor which compresses the refrigerant in a well extending into the hot water tank. In this way, some of the heat generated by operating the compressor can be transferred to the water through conduction, thus further improving the efficiency of the device. However, due care must be taken with such devices that any potential refrigerant leaks do not contaminate the potable water stored in the hot water tank. For this reason, a volume is provided between the compressor and the walls of the well to assure that refrigerant will not enter the water tank. Since heat pump compressors of the type used in such water heaters generate noise through vibration, it is also desirable to provide a noise and vibration isolation pad supporting the compressor to thereby diminish the noise and vibration as much as possible.